Time in a Bubble
by Jenova-chan
Summary: Piers takes the opportunity to think.


This was a fill for picarcia over at LJ, but it was so epically delayed that I'm almost ashamed for posting it. But here it is, enjoy and take a peek over at the GS forum for more really sweet fills!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything Golden Sun related.

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There was something to be said about a person who, on a boat with Jenna at the helm, was able to find some kind of centred, inner peace. It was exceptionally hard, mind you, so credit should be given when due. Especially when the ship tended to lurch a great bit more than necessary, and the potential risk that said girl at the helm could set fire to the wooden construction while trying to fend off (or just scaring them for the fun of it) the irritating seagulls was always imminent.

So, perhaps there was something special about Piers that made him able to actually be able to lean on the railing, and just _look _and _feel_ as the world's oceans rushed past the boat.

He was relaxing, with the kind of state of mind that where nowhere and everywhere at once, and he relished the feeling of warm sunshine on his bare arms. It was a pleasant change from Lemuria's constant weather that had stubbornly settled between here-we-have-a-lot-of-mist and here-we-have-more-mist.

He frowned when his almost perfect mood took a hit from the sorrow he still held when thinking about his home, and with a shake of his head (and the help of Jenna's far too over-exited left turn), he pushed it out of his mind. It wouldn't do to think about such things now, not when there was too much _good _in his life.

And to Lemuria's weather's defence; there had been days with just a faint haze blowing about. Those days had been nice.

He glanced down, and smiled at the white foam that formed in the ships wake. It almost seemed like it played with the ship, caressing, poking and jumping around the smooth wooden hull with such beautiful and childish ease that it nearly made him want to jump in and join. To feel the small, tickling bubbles engulf him in bright cool white and to swim and race through the water, the element that was his to care for and the element that cared for him. His mother had once said that he should've been born with gills. Truly, the woman had spoken with great wisdom.

Looking further, he saw the smooth, deep blue water spread out before his eyes endlessly and he took a deep breath and filled his lungs with warm, moist and salt-filled sea-air. The ocean flew by, faster than necessary really, and the blue nuances were reflecting the sun with startlingly bright glittering on the waves. Jenna had always had a thing for speeding the boat whenever she held the wheel, and while Piers figured it did no real harm, he could not understand why. She missed so much when rushing headfirst forward.

But then again, he had lived a life that by far was longer than hers and it would go on quite a bit longer, so maybe he couldn't understand by default. Perhaps this was the way life was mean to be lived, here outside Lemuria?

Still looking at the water, he was struck by the most wonderful, yet hauntingly terrifying realization. Watching as the sea rushed by, the eternally vast ocean in which he travelled, it was like watching his own time. He realized that when he looked at one speck of water, it was like looking at one second of eternity just _flow _by. It should be impossible to have something so boundless and limitless compress itself, fractionize itself, into mere moments but here it was.

Was this how it felt like to have spent so few years in Weyard, like Jenna or Sheba or Felix?

Too stuck in this new way of seeing the world, too much in awe, Piers didn't realize that there was another person standing next to him before that someone touched his hand lightly.

"What are you thinking about?" It was Felix. Silent, level-headed Felix who'd taken off his heavy cloak and weaponry and happened to stand a teensy bit closer to Piers than regular social circumstances would bid to use. His milky pale skin was slightly flustered from being out in the sun, and he smelled faintly of wet soil.

Piers tore his eyes away from the water and waved a hand at the scenery. "This." Smirking as the other seemed to wordlessly urge him on to explain, he decided to entertain himself a little. "Eternity that lasts only for a second."

Felix looked at him, with brows knitted together into thoughtful confusion and hadn't it been for Piers knowing better, the Water Adept would've thought that he pouted. "That's what you think this is?" He gestured vaguely at the sea. "That's impossible. Even if it was just water you were looking at, eternity can't be a second."

On the tip of Piers tongue laid the words: _'Oh my, you're vocal today!'_ but he decided that the mood was too enjoyable to loose, and just shrugged. "Who are we to say what eternity can or cannot be?" He shuffled back just half a step, out of pure reflex, and slid an arm loosely around Felix waist. "As for the water, the similarities it shares with the topic at hand is stunning, don't you think?"

It was adorable really, to see Felix try to figure out what Piers actually was talking about. He half-expected the Earth Adept to simply huff and ask him if he'd gotten a sunstroke while trying to leave, so Piers kept his arm where it was to prevent such things from happening. Focusing on the water became a bit more difficult (not because Jenna seemingly wanted to make the ship go in ridiculously complex bends and bows; maybe he should inform her that it couldn't do loops), but he managed to look at it while still being aware of the body next to him.

The water flowed endlessly, eternally, in this world. It coursed through rivers and streams to end up in the ocean, where it melded together and surged towards the corners, toward the Gaia Falls, and finally it threw itself over the edge of the world into a never-ending waterfall. And then it rained, and the rivers and lakes were filled and everything started again. It was eternal, and wasn't looking at one drop of water like seeing one short second of a time without an end?

And how did you explain that to one who had such little experience in the terms of time?

He glanced at the young man beside him, and tightened his hold slightly. Felix didn't argue, but instead turned his brown eyes to meet Piers yellow ones. "It's a contradiction. And no, I don't see how the ocean has anything to do with it." Felix spoke like the words left a sour taste in his mouth, almost juvenile in his disdain for not understanding, and linked his fingers with Piers subtly.

Like he'd thought then. He laughed at the sheer joy of life, and at his companion's irritated expression. "Maybe one day, I'll explain it to you Felix." He pulled the youth closer, and he felt rather than saw Felix sigh and roll his eyes. Still chuckling lightly, Piers gently placed his chin on the Earth Adept's shoulder, bringing his mouth closer to the others ear. He smiled as he felt the tiny tremors run through the lean body. "But I sure won't mind spending a second with you if it means it'll last for eternity." He whispered.

Because like the sea, like all those drops of rain, Piers knew that even if he didn't understand how the outside world could live in such a hurry, he too could compress his time into tiny bits. And all those bits, all those seconds that would last forever, would be worth everything when spent with a loved one.

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I wonder how long Piers will actually live? Since he was basically exiled and stuff, but he's still Lemurian... food for thought! Thank you for reading, and Happy Valentines (a late one) to picarcia!


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